SHE's BACK ON THE BLADES

For those of you that are new to this silly little electronic journal, I use to figure skate. I’d like to think that my parents kept me so heavily involved because of the sheer raw talent I possessed but that would be a lie. They kept me at the rink and on the road as much as possible, so that I had absolutely no time to focus on boys and dating. You see, my mother had a deep seeded fear that I’d get pregnant. I remember she use to always say to me, “you know Rhondi, once you start doing that (meaning sex) it's not like you’re just able to stop...” Guess what, she was absolutely correct!!

My skating carnival character 'Cookie'
(Appearing in Bracebridge Herald Gazette)
TAKEN: APRIL 1982

As I sit here giggling, I couldn't help but reminisce yesterday as I decided to once again lace up my skates for a Fire & Ice Festival we were having in my wonderful little town. Rummaging through our storage to locate my custom made John Knebli skates, I was trying to remember exactly when the last time was I had laced them up.

I decided that it had to of been one of Jukeboxes’ February birthday parties. If I had to venture a guess, I would say it’d been a little over a decade ago. I could still jump and spin back then but I fear those days are gone. No worries. Because at the end of the day, I am all about life experiences right now and the fact that I wanted to at least try and skate's considered a feather in my proverbial skating cap.

When I was growing up, figure skating and hockey were something that everybody had the opportunity to participate in. I'm not minimizing the expense but it could generally be handled by a one income household. Now, parents almost need to sell a  less talented offspring, as well as a viable organ on the black market, to see the amount of ice time and year round training I received. That said, I always knew from a very young age that I was on a journey my mother never had the chance to take.

The last time I skated, I mean seriously competed, was at an audition for the Ice Capades at Maple Leaf Gardens. We hit the dressing rooms after the show, then officially hit the ice close to midnight. Again, it was my mother that had discovered the opportunity for me and she bullied my oldest brother in to putting us up in the city, coming to the show, then driving us back to Muskoka in the wee hours of that Saturday morning.

After my skate that night, I was offered the ability to apply to appear with their second tier show that toured smaller cities across Canada and the US. All I'll say, is that my skate at Maple Lead Gardens was the last time I truly skated. I gave it up cold turkey about a week later and never looked back. I had finished high school and was working full-time to save. Let's just say the years of being a rink rat had run their course.

I vividly remember that time and the moment I decided to pack my skate bag up for good. I suspect if my mother were alive, she'd attribute the extremely bad decision I'd made to stop figure skating, to all the really great sex I'd ultimately yet to discover. For those of you reading that knew her, you know first hand that she was never wrong.

Peeps, relax. Thirty plus year later, ya most definitely just gotta laugh about it!

THE END OF A FAMILY ERA

Heading home from work this afternoon, the Sweeney-Miester mentioned that she’d like to stop by the grocery store on the way home. We knew that one in particular was advertising 25% off everything store-wide, so we thought we’d check it out one last time. 

I have to be honest. When I walked in the front door, I wasn’t prepared for the scene that unfurled. I wandered in and looked around, then turned to my girlfriend and said... “There’s a lot of personal history here."  Seeing the shelves empty hit me like a ton of bricks.  I instantly held up my phone. 

After I snapped this pic, walked the entire store one last time, bought nothing and quietly ventured home. My point is that we have/soon to be had, a Metro grocery store in our town. You see, it's closing to re-open in mid-March as Food Basics. I understand why they are transitioning but in all honesty, it's quite sad. 

Don't you find it that your life flashes in front of your eyes
...at the oddest times?
TAKEN: JANUARY 28th, 2016 

Gone will be the days of the Fresh To Go and Bakery divisions that employed both my boys through their high school years. Not to mention a legendary group of gals my husband playfully labelled the "Metro Queens" that were my daughters' former cashier coworkers; but that's not our only family history within my post.

Working in that grocery store (then Dominion, eventually A&P, now Metro) was the first full-time summer job I ever had. It was the summer of 1984. 

Large brown paper bags were what us hard working cashiers were then packing in, and ice cream most definitely had to be heavily wrapped twice. Paid in cash via a bank envelope every Thursday, it was a much smaller store back then, and ours was still the largest in our town of a little over 9,000 year round residents at the time. 

As I strolled through the empty store tonight, I couldn't help but think of those shifts when all of my children were scheduled and working in store together. I absolutely loved it. Over those four or five years, Metro was the best teen tracking mechanism any parent could've ever hoped for.

I'm proud they earn the opportunity to work there to save for post secondary life. That said, I know for a fact I never shopped anywhere else all those years, paying more than above average for most items in an effort to support them as well as their employer.

I guess the moral of my post is that I find it very sad, that Metro never put any of those high priced extra profits (that our entire town contributed to) back into a store in dire need of good management.

Shame on them!

THE REALITY ABOUT RESPECT

Relaxing with a hot cup of coffee and my tablet this morning, I clicked onto my Linkedin icon and immediately began to scroll. It’s something I do faithfully throughout the week but not so much on the weekend.  I am always glad see specific colleagues there. A couple of them in particular, share some extremely informative content, that I always look forward to reading. As it turned out, a gentleman that hired me and never properly paid his bill was soliciting blog followers. Out of nothing other than sheer curiosity, I read his post.  I had to chuckle.

You see, in the spring of 2014, he’d opened up a so called 'marketing firm' with no idea what he was doing. He spent a boatload of money on a sexy new website (with a sleek Corporate feel) to make it look like he had a clue, yet anyone that knew him personally, wondered what the hell he was thinking. When he landed his first true PR/Marketing client, he called me because he was completely lost. He ultimately failed his client.

The reason he failed his task at hand was primarily because he let the gentlemen he was working for tell him that the data was wrong and they were right. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, data doesn’t lie. The hard reality is that you need to help a client understand how they've arrived at the moment in time they’re in. Instead, from the beginning, I suspected that he felt he had to be completely like minded to them (hence my graphic) and they simply steamrolled him. After he refused to pay me the full amount agreed upon, I stopped feeding him how to manage the platform, and he was released. 

As expected, he came clean to them about who was in fact really responsible for the work that had been done. So, I wasn’t entirely surprised when my phone rang with an offer to pick up where he’d left off. My answer was a swift and confident no thank you. I knew 5 minutes into that call that you had to unconditionally believe what they believed to be the truth;  and I knew without a single shred of uncertainty, that I did not. I never spoke to any of them again.

Some months later, I got an email from that so called marketing fella I'd left behind. He invited me for lunch, so that he could apologize for what had happened in person. When I declined, he became frustrated. When he pressed me why I would no longer have anything to do with him I was honest. All those months later it was never really about my money that he’d kept. You see, over that lapse of time it was about respect. He’d lost mine.

I know we all think money is the most important thing earned but in my books, respect is the hardest item we'll ever have to earn and if taken for granted, one of the easiest items someone can lose. Make sure you always treasure it.

Whenever asked about that point in time in my career, I have a very simple & standard answer. Which is...

I tried to help Save The Bala Falls... and failed miserably!

HOW'S YOUR 2016 GOING?

Have you ever had one of those days where you'd ask yourself..."What's the date today?"

I have no idea where the time goes. I know it's been a couple of years since I've submitted a timesheet, yet, for it being only the 20th of January, it feels like the past three weeks have lasted three months. Not in the arduous sense of time passing, more... I've accomplished so much, how the hell can we only be three weeks in?

Ringing in 2016 with my Mama-in-law!
TAKEN: DECEMBER 31st, 2015

I had/have great hopes for 2016.

As you know, in 2015 I made some major life changes, both personally and professionally. To put things right on the table, I cleaned house. I honestly feel that sometimes we keep certain people in our lives for all the wrong reasons. Not that I'd have a friggin' clue... My shrink was a personal cost cutting measure that was endured when I quit my job in 2013!

Shrinkage jokes aside, all I'll say is that 2016 will be the first year of my life known for it's simplicity. Why? Because, believe it or not, for the first time in a lot of years, I have nothing to fix and nothing to prove.

Might sound like a nice word, simplicity, all wrapped up neatly with a big red bow. But for an over-achiever, that's a much bigger task to accomplish than it may read. Especially when your hardwired like a five and a half foot ball of yarn, determined to get everything untangled and quantify the reason for every silly knot. For me, simplicity is something I look forward to.

Anyway, generally too round to try yoga... for my 2016 Birthday I have officially booked a trip and decided to learn to surf. (Like those skills are going to take me far, or that I'll ever use again). I've also decided join a choir and to learn to really cook. Though I am A-OK on the singing front, to go to the next level, I could use some help in the kitchen. They offer lessons in town but that's not where I'll learn to hone my craft. I want to study in my Mama-in-laws' kitchen. She's an amazing cook, just ask my husband... and anyone else she's ever cooked for.

Truth? The fact that Ivy ensures the best tunes rock her kitchen when she's cookin', will only compliment our lessons, as well as my ability to learn. I wonder if she'd like to come to choir with me?

Guess I'll simply have to ask. Lord knows... She can sing circles around yours truly.

So, tell me....How is your 2016 going?

HOW DO YA KNOW?

My last CHEERS in Los Cabos!
TAKEN: DECEMBER 3rd, 2015

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE I'M HEADED NEXT
This video is personal property of JOHN WELSH.
Shared with permission. All rights reserved.

I was going to label the title of my post, "MY LAST RESORT" but after selecting my photo to keep my post company, I worried that someone would feel obligated to step up and be my AA sponsor. That said, those Caribbean Orange frozen cocktails were rub-a-tummy-yummy and they definitely had a whomp ass of a kick!  

I love this pic. I snapped it on my very last day in Cabo. When my treat was finished, I returned to my room and finished packing. I think I knew then, that in my heart I wanted my next adventure to be something other than a resort vacation. 

I suppose I should clarify that my stay at The RIU Palace was excellent. I headed home stoked by the price of the one day sale I'd taken advantage of; yet felt like an idiot for avoiding Mexico in my travels as long as I had. Boarding my plane, I knew that I was going to look away from the excess of resort vacations in 2016; but let's face it, I know little about how to best navigate Mexico. Therefore, I figured what I am actually about to do, wasn't even an option for me.

So that's my question... How do you know what the right vacation opportunity is to take advantage of? I am anything but a world traveler. I know you can only trust the internet to get you so far, and I can be a bit of a snob when it comes to where I stay. Even admitting all of that, booking my next trek came my way in quite an interesting manner.

I chose this upcoming Mexico location for a couple of significant reasons. The 4 bedroom house (and small infinity pool) was just a starting point. It's beautifully situated on the side of a hill in a small town that caters (somewhat) to a Canadian traveler.

I absolutely love that I have to walk to the beach. I have to walk to the beach, I have to walk to get groceries. I have to walk to get everywhere I wanna go. Also, the owner of the home is Canadian and he assures me that it will be safe to be out at night. An added bonus? Last, but not least, the Sweeny-meister stayed there last January, so it comes highly recommended by her. Oh, and she is coming with me for my birthday, to ensure I stay out of trouble!

As I head to beautiful Sayulita for back to back Mexican experiences (and learn to surf), I believe that my fondness for Mexico will hold a similar candle to the strong love I have for Jamaica.

Because, as you've read.... There's never a bad time for Jamaica Mon!!

DOCTOR MY EYES

When I was looking through folders within my documents last night, I stumbled along a misplaced folder of phone pictures from my last vacation. As I looked at the picture I am sharing, a couple of things immediately entered my mind.

The fact that I suck at taking selfies of us once again fled to the forefront of my immediate thought process, yet it’s the fact that that I finally have a pic of my husband not wearing his glasses that jumped out at me most. Truth of the matter is that he’s had to wear glasses almost his entire life. That said, for more that a year, he's been telling me that I have an unrealistic attitude toward my own vision and my true eyesight needs.

My MAN... Sporting a smile and his beautiful blue eyes.
TAKEN: DECEMBER 2nd, 2015

It's no big surprise. I’ve known I would eventually need to take the plunge and get fitted with a set of specs. Yet, out of a combination of sheer vanity and stubbornness, I have managed to skillfully allude the local Optometrist.  He teases me about it, though my behaviour is not really dissimilar to his (many years ago) in his cancelling several appointments he'd made to have a vasectomy... He just simply didn’t want to do it!

I’m not sure what my issue is.

When my eyes first began to seriously fail, I just matter a factually marched in and purchased a 32” computer monitor, then proceeded on an intense two year stint of website builds and graphic design. It wasn’t until I started my new job and began working seriously with numbers again, that I realized my eyesight was failing at a more rapid rate than I could've ever imagined.

I know I have options: contacts, progressive lens, 'n all that jazz but I think my attitude leans more toward my true nature. My husband tells me that I shouldn't be surprised that I need glasses, "both your parents and all your siblings wore/wear them," he says.

Guess when all is said and done, I'm simply not them... I am me.

Bad eyesight accessorized, et al. 

HITTING THE ROAD WITH THE RAPS!

I had a former co-worker message me on Facebook over the holidays to confirm that I was in fact as big a Toronto Raptors fan as I've alluded to on my Twitter feed. My answer was a simple… “HELL, YA!”

As the kick-ass a fan I am, I was fortunate enough to get gifted tickets to a game over the holidays. At the last minute, I offered my box ticket to my oldest boy, because he'd never experienced a Raps game live. Not one to ever miss out, I immediately went online and bought myself a 9th row end zone onesie ticket on game day. 

That evening, as my husband and son landed in the executive suite, they both sent a text to try and locate me in the sold out crowd. In an effort to get on the jumbo-tron, I had about a half dozen people around me, stand and wave their arms along side me so they could see us. It was with really tired arms I had to finally phone my man with a very important tidbit of information. “You’re looking in the wrong end zone...” was what we yelled.

Short story long, watching all the action, the HBSC Bank offered my husband a 3rd ticket so that I could join my boys. We had a blast!

Had a blast with Jukebox... and the RAPS won!
TAKEN: DECEMBER 30th, 2015

Shortly after that, I began to seriously plan my April jaunt. I knew I didn’t want another resort vacation, so after my buddy Heather had such an amazing solo road trip at Christmas, I decided to look at a map. My map had one focus: the Raps schedule on the road.

I quickly discovered that my team had games less than a week apart, playing in three of the cities I wanted to visit. My girlfriend and her husband confessed they may be travelling, so that took San Antonio (Spurs) out of the mix. Yet, I hit the mother load with New Orleans (Pelicans) and Memphis (Grizzlies)... with me heading into Nashville for a couple of days and flying home from there.

My only true hurdle at this juncture's wrapping my head around our poor Canadian dollar. I can pay for my flights and car in Canadian dollars but after that, I am going to be at the mercy of dear ole George Washington. As of today, it will painfully cost me more that a buck forty-two to purchase one American dollar. Not gonna lie, when I finished my cost analysis, that was the hardest thing to personally justify.

I love the Raps, I really do. I miss my friends and I truly want to see them both. At the end of the day, it's turning out to be about a couple of men outside Darin & Twos. Truth is, it's looking like William McKinley & James Madison will be my deciding factors. No matter how much I feel I am worth it, this is turning out to be a very large investment for a mere 10 days on the road with the Raps.

I guess it could be worse. I could be thinking of buying a 4th dog... On second thought, maybe a $5,000 basketball themed road trip may not be such a bad idea after all.

What? ...You didn't think I'd be sitting in the nose bleed seats did ya?!

SOME VERY SIMPLE ADVICE

Well, for the first time in I don’t know how many years, I stayed upright and officially rang in the new year at midnight last night. I didn’t get home much after that but for some very strange reason, I stayed in bed until after noon. Wait, I’ll come clean. The reason I stayed in bed wasn’t strange, it was thanks to my mother-in-law and her super special Sangria recipe!

Anyway, when I finally found myself vertical, I headed outside to shovel. I couldn't help but realize that this had been the busiest holiday season for me in at least a decade. Part of me feels the lack of snow helped make me more mobile, another part of me's resigned myself to the fact that I am just more settled. No bullshit calendars to deliver, no ads that needed to go to press; just a week of some much needed me/we time.

Like some, I’m not a ‘new year, new me’ kind of person. I am who I am and I'm okay with that. Don’t make resolutions, never have. I will admit that there are superficial things I wish I could change but the truth of the matter is that I am generally okay with the aging process. The hard reminders come via my pups. As Dot struggles to do the stairs, I know that'll eventually be me. As I sit here and admire the snow falling from the sky, my personal thoughts fall in line with, “…just please don’t let me fall and break a hip this winter!”

My perfect New Years Day office view!
(TAKEN: JANUARY 1st, 2016)

Giggles aside, I wanted to share that I drew and posted a graphic on Linkedin (that I retweeted) this morning. It read:

Follow you heart. 

Just be sure to take your brain with you!

With that very simple bit of advice forming my 2016 mantra, I DO intend on following my heart this year.

I AM going save every penny I can to travel more, and I AM going to embrace every single opportunity of adventure that presents itself. 

As I sit here writing and daydream about all the things I am going to do in 2016, the first thing on my list of things to accomplish is staring right at me in the face. I need to immediately get my ass outside and bring in the two lawn chairs I left out on the patio. 

Happy 2016 everybody. I'm truly looking forward to a very exciting year!!

A FRIENDSHIP FOREVER IN BLOOM

Well, it’s that time of year again. When I crate up the crap from the previous business year and haul it out to the garage. I have a teeny section out there dedicated to what’s left of my consulting business and I go through what’s there a couple of times a year to ensure I’m not hanging onto anything I don’t absolutely need. You see, I am anything but a pack-rat. 

Anyway, by the time I was done this morn, my desk was cleared, and the hanging folders housed in my drawers were pretty much sparse. The last thing I had to do before I could cross the completed task off my list, was tend to my dried office flowers. Those I deal with weekly, and have been doing so for about five years.

...I love you Don-igan!
(TAKEN: DECEMBER 29th, 2015)

It was the spring of 2011 and a co-worker (with a prize winning green thumb) brought them in as a gift.

I wasn’t surprised by his generosity, rather more accurately moved by the beauty of what he'd been able to nurture and grow. 

I remember that they were bright white and smelled amazing. I recall asking what type of flower they were but as quickly as I asked, I had forgotten the name. When they dried, I brought them home. To this very day, I still have them. 

Matter a fact, I am pleased to report that they aren't the only thing I still have: I still have both of them. The wonderful flowers that were gifted to me on that beautiful spring day, as well as my friendship with the gentleman that so generously gave them to me. 

Both are the only things I truly cherish from that specific journey and time in my life. I am so glad that that ours will be a friendship forever in bloom. So, here's to an amazing 2016 for both of us...

Lord knows, there's a boatload of people that understand we've definitely earned it!

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

When a coworker asked me what I was looking most forward to about the holidays this year, I gave her a very honest answer. It's not the food and reactionary weight gain that automatically occurs, because lets face it, I was heavier than I like to be in August so an extra splash of gravy behind my ears made no matter. With our children grown and having their own busy lives/traditions, I've finally conditioned myself to that. Shopping? Nope. Because I do very little (and I gifted mine to myself on Boxing Day). I told her that was so looking forward to the lights that shine bright on the tree. 

Getting to watch the lights at night is only reason I even put a tree up this year. Since I was a kid, they've always mesmerized me with their beauty. When I came downstairs this morning, I was going to take the ‘holiday tree’ down, yet decided to enjoy the lights at night a smidgen longer. As you can see by the photo I am sharing, other than a star on top, there wasn't a single decoration on my tree this year, only lights.

Thank goodness my amazing poinsettia hides my lack of decorations!
THANKS CHRISTOPHER...
(TAKEN: DECEMBER 24th, 2015)

That’s because when I finally forced myself to put up the thing up a week and a half before the eve, I went to work the following morn and left the box of decorations on the  living room floor. 

Suffice is the say the dogs puked and shat their spirit all over the house, which had me not bother to finish the task. Didn’t matter to me though, because as I said, the lights are my very favourite thing.

As you know, 2015 has been a year of personal change for me. I guess that’s why I shouldn’t be remotely surprised that the holiday season unfolded in the same manner. As one of my very favourite Facebook friends headed down the east coast to celebrate the season, I honestly wished that I could have been a Thelma to her Louise. Even sitting here now, I know that I am going to work towards renting a beach house for two weeks and taking my dogs to the ocean for 2016 Festivus.

You see, as my girlfriend and I exchanged niceties Christmas morning, she posted this message. 'Merry Christmas Rhondi. All these years I've seen your winter trip pictures and wondered why. Now I get it. There's nothing like spending the entire morning walking on the beach wishing people Merry Christmas.'

I couldn't have said it better myself.... The only thing she's forgotten?

How pretty the Christmas lights are with the sound of the ocean as their background!

MY QUEST FOR CHRISTMAS

I had a great time Friday at our afternoon company luncheon, so I started my little bit of holiday shopping Friday night. Then, when I woke up yesterday morn, I opened up some very specific dialogue with my husband, that I feel the need to reiterate every single holiday season. “Please don’t buy me anything,” I said

We've never really exchanged gifts, yet I was sensing he was feeling obligated to put something under the tree for me. The truth of the matter is that it’s not a bah-humbug thing, I simply don’t need nor want anything. What I want, I have. If I don’t have it, it’s probably because I don’t want it.

As parents, we’ve never put a material emphasis on this time of year but our kids are human and tend to get wrapped up in idea of it all (no pun intended). As a result, I do what most do. I buy far too much wrapping paper and tape, then say that I'll save it until next year - which I never do!

Anyway, with all of us working until at least noon Christmas Eve, this past weekend was literally our last chance to get what shopping done that we needed to do. I have always shopped locally, so I knew there would be no big shopping mall crowds to tend with, just the challenge of hiding what was purchased... As the four of the five of us that were together, were totally guilty of last minute shopping.

The Corner Cabinet in Bracebridge ROCKS!
TAKEN: DECEMBER 19th, 2015 

That said, before I started shopping for my family yesterday morn, I had to hunt and find a very personal gift for a special someone in my life. 

I’ve known them professionally since 2008, yet none of my holiday shopping buddies know them personally. All they know, is what they’ve heard me share of them. 

When I explained my challenge, I was truly amazed how they all helped me in my quest for the perfect gift. Schlepping from store to store, in a blizzard no less. Not gonna lie, it made the perfect purchase that much more personal. Makes no matter that the person receiving our effort's the epitome of  'someone that has everything', I know they'll hug me with sincerity and appreciate the sentiment.

So, with my shopping done & Sirius cranked on the oldies Christmas tune station, I type. 

I am so pleased to report that the only gray in my life this season is the colour of my hair, yet I still feel the same way about Christmas that I always have.

Unless there's a trip around the world under the tree for me... Hold onto your cash!

MY BABY NEEDS HELP!

I had to zoom into the cottage the Sunday before I left for my trip to pick up a few things I was missing. A couple of them were personal items but more importantly, I’d discovered I left a large media storage card behind that is dedicated to one of my favourite cameras.

As I sat and sipped my hot cup of coffee this past Saturday morning, I decided to take a boo at what I'd transferred off my card before I left. Much to my surprise, I found a folder with a series of pictures I had taken outdoors during one of the last summer downpours I endured. The last pic discovered in the folder was the one I’m sharing now (if you look closely, you can see the raindrops that remained on my lens after entering the cottage).

Came in from the storm and there she was... Proud as a Peacock!
TAKEN: AUGUST 11th, 2015

As you know, I am a “...I'll proudly own a Blackberry phone until the company officially..." fill in the blank, kinda Canadian.

What can I say, I love my Q10 and its very sexy buttons. The sound of them clicking at the speed of light, is like music to my ears.

That said, I’ve never considered myself a technology follower, yet I would be lying if I said I hadn't looked at other products on the dark side.

I may have looked but I've never truly entertained abandoning my best friend. I guess the truth of the matter is, I know I never will. Like I said, my Blackberry has always kept me totally satisfied; that was, until I decided to take my latest BFF on a late night November swim.

Yup, since she went swimming with me, she's really been hurting. From the morning after I bailed us us out of that frigid Muskoka water, she can’t hold a charge like she use to. To magnify her woes, this past weekend a tell tale sign that the end is near appeared; she was officially unrecognizable by any USB port I tried to connect her with. Now, I don’t know about you, but when one gravitates to and financially supports a company whos name is RIM, any/all USB port insertion & connection most definitely become critical for personal user satisfaction!

As I look to pull her SIM card and trade her in on a new Blackberry PRIV, I can only hope she's been as happy with me, as I have been with with her. Here's hoping that during that last summer storm, her USB connection threw her a little extra jolt and tiny power surge of satisfaction. On second though, nix that somewhat playful and sexy thought.

...I'm sure Ontario Hydro wouldn't be able to deliver that right either!!

MIKEY-MIKE & THE FUNKY LUNCH

As you know, I returned to work the first of the week after a really great trip to Mexico. As I finished packing my suitcase at the resort last Sunday afternoon, I admitted something to my husband that took him a little off guard. "I'm excited to get home and get back to work," I said.

The truth of the matter is, that until this past vacation, I have always hopped a plane feeling frazzled and returned more anxious than when I left. Not because I am incompetent, rather, in 99.9% of any work environments that I have worked, I've been very hard pressed to find a core group of coworkers that haven't had their own agenda.

The honest reality is, until I started my current job last September, I'd never experienced working with a true team. Don't get me wrong, I have worked for employers that pontificate they embody a 'team philosophy'; yet in all my years in the workplace, this is the only employer that personally sets the tone and follows through.

Meet Masterchef Mikey-Mike...
Always providing amazing internal customer service!
TAKEN:DECEMBER 11th, 2015

Even though the company may be one of the largest employers in the district, our specific group is quite small. All hardwired to go that extra mile, we work through our lunch most every single day. When I joined, I was pleasantly surprised that (as a team) they strive to eat their lunch together every Friday noon.

Why? It not only officially gives everyone a chance to catch up, it gives us all a chance to laugh as a group, which as you know I always deem... 'the best medicine'.

Okay, so here comes the point of my post. When I snapped Mikey's pic serving lunch today, my core thought was that my post was going to be about our odd ability to BBQ and suntan at work (in Muskoka) in December.

Then, after we scoffed down our food, I headed to my desk and looked up a personal tidbit. I surprisingly discovered via my blog, that today marks exactly 2 years since I handed in my letter of resignation and keys for what I'd previously referred to as my "Dream Job".

When I clicked on my post titled "Christmas Came Early For This Cat"... My reaction wasn't what it had been in the past; which was that I missed and longed for those days to come back. It was simply... HOLY BOATLOAD OF PRECIPITATION BATMAN... LOOK AT ALL THE SNOW!

I guess time, and really amazing internal customer service, truly does heal everything.

Thanks for listening.

NEVER? ...NOT IN MY VOCABULARY!

I’ve been lucky enough over my lifetime thus far, to have had a plethora of travel experiences. I have seen my homeland coast to coast; rented beachfront homes, high rise condos, as well as embraced some amazing resort living. All have offered great memories, so I really don’t rank one above the other on my preference scale. The way I see it, all have happened for a reason, at a certain point and time in my life.

When I started seriously looking at Cobo San Lucas as a resort destination, even my travel agent warned me that there was no swimming in the Sea of Cortez because of the undertow. Once I landed on the bus to the resort late last Sunday night, that specific point was once again reiterated. 

Do YOU always do what you're told?!
TAKEN: DECEMBER 1st, 2015

“DO NOT swim in front of the resort, unless you want to end up in Mazatlan," they said.

“DO NOT buy any silver on the beach, unless you want to give it to someone that you really don’t like” was the next point.

And, "NEVER go into Town when the cruise ships are in Port”... was definitely the loudest warning of all!

I don't know about you, but as a grown adult I've never done anything I don't want to do. I didn't buy any silver simply because someone told me not to, I didn't buy any silver because I didn't have a need, nor a desire to do so.

As far as swimming goes, there are flags everywhere and watching the tide is definitely a key. That said, some of the stuff I have seen this week is mind boggling - so the warning truly has a place. Also, though I say that never is not in my vocabulary, when I traveled to Lands End to dip my toes in the Pacific for the very first time, it took all I had to keep my footing in place and NOT end up in Mazatlan!!

That leaves me with the cruise ships. How they navigate the bay is truly something to see. The people head off the ship for the same reason that I walked into town. To embrace the culture and beauty that surrounds them. I guess I just feel blessed to have stayed 7 days, where they got to stayed a mire 7 hours!

At the end of the day.... I'll never say, that I'll never return again!!

LIVING ON THE VACATION EDGE!

I’ve blogged it before and I’ll blog it again, I am not a very worldly person.

Like most with an active imagination, can close my eyes and see myself basking on a yacht in Greece but at the end of the day, my boat that floats and a set of ear buds take me just about as far away as I need be. My understanding of the difference between want and need, followed by a somewhat limited amount of disposable income, has always kept me very well grounded. The other side of that coin is, having my feet firmly planted, gives me just enough curiosity to want to live a little on the vacation edge.

My room with a view!
TAKEN: NOVEMBER 30th, 2015

Speaking of  'vacation edge', I posted a new cover pic on my personal FB page (I've attached a link here)... I took it at dusk on the second night I was here in Cabo.

I had to scootch my ass out a 30" window & shimmy 25ft, across a 4th storey wall to get it done.

You see, that specific view belongs to the elite staying at the resort. You know, those girls I met from California that paid $300 USD for a cab into town. My view is the one I am posting. I love it and feel it provides me with all the luxury I need. (Not to mention, the added bonus of tossing down cans of beer to the fellas hauling the huge bins of towels, uphill, to the laundry; as well as watching & listening to the horses that move tourists up and down the beach.)

For what it's worth, I have always been of the opinion that individual wealth is relative. The challenging  part for me has always been, because they've attained or inherited it, they feel they are better than others. I suppose I can process that ideology, yet I struggle to understand it. Especially in a place like this, where people travel to relax, then insistently complain about small silly shit!

For this cat, as I walked into town yesterday, I realized one thing better than the majority of the peeps that are here.

...I am definitely richer than most think!

A VERY BRIGHT FUTURE...

Join me this post in wishing my newest pup a happy ANNIE-versary. You see, it’s a year ago today she joined our family.

I’ve never really written about that time before but let’s just say, as I boarded a plane to the Caribbean, my daughter boarded a Greyhound bus with her then boyfriend, to return to Alberta. It was a very emotional time for our family, as she'd dismissed us from her new life for being vocal about our feelings about her idiotic shithead, I mean future 'husband'.

As you can imagine, at the time I needed a 3rd dog running around the house like I needed a hole in the head but with my daughter gone, I needed an outlet so that I didn’t focus on what had ultimately unfurled; and Annie was exactly that. Celebratory wishes to my pup aside, I can't begin to describe the joy we felt when she expressed that she wanted to returned to Ontario less than six months later. Once we understood what had transpired, we had her home in a little better than 72 hours, with a promise not to ever dwell on our time apart. We never have.

It pains me to remember just how emotionally spent and somewhat broken she was when we picked her up at the airport. She’d invested her trust and love to a person that was not only mentally unstable but extremely abusive. As silly as this may read, as a mother, the first telltale sign for me how lost she was, was that she’d dyed her beautiful long curly hair jet black.

Well, as the snow begins to fall a year later, I believe that she has made great strides in healing. She's working hard at a full time job, made some exciting new friendships, not to mention nurtured and re-established solid friendships she’d left behind. More importantly, she's finally let certain people go. Those that have ultimately lied and betrayed her over and over again.

Sweetie taking a good look at her very bright future.
TAKEN: NOVEMBER 14th, 2015
(Photo Credit: Our other GOOB)

How cool is it that almost a year after her leaving our home, she posted this photo that I am sharing today. One of her best friends (and someone very dear to our family) had taken it and I absolutely love it. 

So many things come to mind for me when I look at the picture but first and foremost it tells me just how far my daughter has come.

The quite, teary mouse, that returned home, has now reverted in the firecracker we know and love. Though there are (and probably always will be) scars, I think she realizes that her future is much brighter than the darkness that surrounded us a year ago.

As an aside, she allowed me to strip the black hair dye from her hair yesterday afternoon. As I sit here and type with tears rolling down my face, I can assure you my tears a year later are much different. They are truly tears of joy.

You see, in my eyes, something as simple as changing her hair colour... is just another small and simple step to her finding her way back to her very loving and confident self for good. 

A YEAR AGO TODAY

Since starting my work commute with the Sweeney Meister a few months ago, we quickly discovered that we'd both be away on vaycay this month. You may find it odd that I have only been at my new job a minute and a half and I'm packing up to go away for a week; but the truth of the matter is, before I was formally hired in July, I was open about the fact that I needed to travel in November and again after the snow arrives but most definitely before it leaves. Luckily for me, they still offered me a job. 

Well, all these months later, this afternoon I officially wished my carpool buddy a bon voyage. I blew her a kiss from the passenger door and asked her to send word of her travels via Facebook. I am truly excited for her. Though she's never traveled this time of year before (as someone that commutes daily in our Hollywood North winters) I've promised her that she would never NOT want to travel this time of year again. 

Luxury Don Pablo Collection ~ La Romana, DR
TAKEN: NOVEMBER 16th, 2014

The funny thing about that last bit is that when I arrived home from work tonight, I discovered that it was exactly a year ago today that I landed in the sun for my very first November vacation. I truly remember how that trip changed my outlook with regards to my winter life.

I find it interesting how others react when I speak openly about Seasonal Affective Disorder. Some want to challenge me on its validity and look for statistical proof that my happy lights work, others want to discuss how they are personally impacted this time of year. When it comes to yours truly, no matter what the dialogue path, I am open and honest. 

Here's the deal: 

For years I struggled to understand what was happening to me as a person. I had hated the festive season and from the time the clocks fell back until they officially sprang forward, I was not a nice person to be around. I knew by my symptoms I wasn't depressed per say, just always lethargic with a real desire to literally hibernate. The dead nuts honest truth is there were weekends in the winter 15 years ago that I never really got out of my PJ's and tended to entertained the kids with movies/TV in bed. It's like I had to save all of my energy to make the Monday to Friday winter facade exist as if it were July. Suffice is to say that is no longer the case. 

Looking back at my pic from a year ago today, I am pleased to admit that I am happy with how solid my mind set is. Where this time last year I craved a vacation, this year I am feeling blessed and truly looking forward to be able to relax and enjoy one. Life is amazing, the several pairs of cement shoes that were weighing me down have been disposed of, and I am in the best physical condition that I have been in since 2012.

Now, if I could figure out why (as a 29 year old I have so much gray hair) I'd be elated!

A 9.5 FROM THE AMERICAN JUDGE

Last week I discovered a very good friend was unexpectedly going through a very tough patch. So, after texting back and forth all week, we hatched a plan to try and make her feel better. In the end, we decided to head out to Orilla Lake; enjoy a bonfire and ultimately howl at the moon.

Well, the good news is that once we arrived and got settled in we never went back outside. The bad news is that because we drained the pump last weekend, we had to draw our Saturday night dish water out of the lake. No big, that’s how things roll out there until we stop going in at Christmas. The difference being, at Christmas we fill all our buckets in the daylight (not after dark when there’s been a light sleet that’s super slicked the stairs and ramp to the dock). Suffice is to say, imagine my surprise when bucket in one hand and cellphone flashlight in the other, I slipped off the ramp and tumbled into the lake.

Getting water this morning via Toby's Rock...NOT the dock!
Taken: November 8th, 2015

Because it was black dark out and I wasn’t sure what I’d hit nor where I’d land, I relaxed and went into the water so I could get my bearings. Problem was, because I was so heavily clothed (and my bucket was filling fast) I wasn’t floating back up. 

When I finally did head to the surface, it was with a fully stretched arm reaching for the moon that was clenching my phone. THAT's what came out of the water first. 

As a person whom when given lemons always tries to make lemonade, I have a couple of important notables I'd like to report from the events of last night:

A) Since purchasing the cottage, I’ve never swan in November before, so that was a first.

B) I’ve never gone off any dock (at that time of night) wearing a stitch of clothing ever; yet another first.

AND...

C) Using international judging rules, the American judge gave me a 9.5 for my dive.

Not a bad score I suppose. Though when I filed an appeal this morn and questioned why I wasn’t awarded the 10 I felt I deserved... The bitch told me it was because my arm was bent when my cell phone came out of the water and that my reach for the moon was lacking the proper creative emotion. 

I guess I should be thankful for the mark and be glad they didn't hear my language. That shit was full of emotion and the one thing I didn't need last night was to be disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. 

Peeps.... Ya Gotta Laugh About It!

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS!

Like most seasonally challenged people, I totally land on my ass after I "fall back" for the reprehensible time change that's just happened. Just as my doctor ordered, I'd  pre-planned to soothe my severe deep buttocks bruising, with a trip to Cabo San Lucas at the end of the month.

So, with my e-tickets in hand, you can imagine my surprise to once again discover Mother Nature off her meds. Feeling very blessed at her misfortune, all I'll say is that I gladly threw her absentee pharmacist a c-note and called it a win. Why am I feeling so generous? She’s unexpectedly delivered me a much appreciated Indian summer.

Just a sleeveless Tee, light blazer ... and a 7am smile.
TAKEN: NOVEMBER 2nd, 2015

Not going to lie, it almost borders on bizarre. All week long I've walked to meet the Sweenymiester (a tad before 7am) in some amazing morning light.

With a skip in my step I was in shock that Tuesday morning I was kept warm by only a sleeveless t-shirt, light blazer, and a smile.

No coat, no gloves but most exciting of all, there was no need for an umbrella, nor a pair of snowpants. Crazier than my wardrobe share is the fact that we've had the air conditioning on at work. This week has definitely been a true (gal off her meds) gift!

Calling this HELL YA out to Mother Nature, reminds me that I used to faithfully read a blogger that said she was winding down her blog because she refused to talk about the weather. I was sad to see her stop but at the end of the day, when you keep an electronic journal like mine, you begin to fully understand that at times like these, the weather pulls more strings in your life than you'd like to admit. I'll admit it, I need the light and it's nice to see Mums au Natural play nice with me for once.

Let's face it, at the end of the post, my question has to be... Who is the only woman most perceive to be a bigger bitch than me? ...Mother Nature.

With a close second going to a couple of gals I went to High School with. Just sayin'.

MY NIGHT BEFORE NOVEMBER

Well, Mother Nature was kind enough to allow me to spend yet another Saturday night at the cottage. I’d had a pretty busy and emotional week, so I was both grateful and excited that with everything I had on the go, things didn’t freeze.

I was going to go in yesterday morning and just shut off the water but the forecast called for a mild rain mid-afternoon so I decided to head in with the intent that I’d be hunkered down inside rather than closing it down. Going in with a plan to keep me busy, I knew there was a kick ass jigsaw puzzle I wanted to sink my teeth into but when I was in the grocery store I decided that the pups and I would carve a pumpkin.

As you can imagine, leaving it so late, my selection was limited. Compounding that, I didn't want to hall a thirty pounder down my 55 stairs, so there was really only one option left. As I picked her up and loaded the bit of a thing into my cart, I was excited about my night before November investment of exactly $1.50.

I hadn't carved a pumpkin for Halloween since 2009... I really did enjoy doing it again.
TAKEN: OCTOBER 31st, 2015

I’ve never spent Halloween night at the cottage before. I wasn’t scared, rather more excited that I could still venture in and be cozy. The wind and rain howled and woke me in the early hours of the morn but I just popped in a movie and waited out the storm.

As I do every year, I hate the thought of closing it. Not because I don’t have other activities to keep me busy but because I feel a real sense of peace when I’m there. So, as I promised myself, I got up this morning and drained the hot water tank, drained the water pump, put plumber's antifreeze in the traps and hauled the intake pipes out of the lake. 

I'm not saying I won't return before the year is over, just resigned myself to the fact that as of last night, the 2016 cottage season is officially over.

For those of you that truly know me, you know I did it kicking and definitely screaming!

BACARDI ISLAND & COKE

It truly is the simple things.
....Like drinkin' an ice cold coke outta the bottle!
TAKEN: Barcardi Island ~ APRIL 2015

I was emailing back and forth with my buddy Marcus all week. He’s always been an amazing sounding board and as expected, he's encouraged me NOT to curl up in a ball in the hall closet, rather keep dealing with my SAD (seasonal affective disorder) head on. 

As I try to cope with the dastardly time change that hits tomorrow morning, I am focusing on staying in a good mind space until I leave on my November trip. Sitting here typing, I can't help but reflect on how therapeutic getting away this time last year really was for me.

Reinvigorated with vitamin D from that trip, I rolled right into a perfect green Christmas at the cottage, which sparked the decision to wait until my birthday to travel for my next burst of sunlight. The sad part about making that decision, was that in those months that lapsed, so many things in my life changed.

That said, I  refuse to blame those things on why my Birthday trip went south; but I will admit that I believe it was one of bazillion contributing factors. So, in the spirit of good blogging, last weekend (yet again) I went through the hundreds of pics I took last April.

Just like they have every other time, I feel they tell my story. It was a terrible trip for me.

Glass half full? If there’s one thing that I’ve learned since I started this electronic journey in 2011... it's to never say never. I embrace every inch of the good and push through every bit of the bad. I guess you can say that also apply that philosophy to my travel experiences.

After a really rough first trip to Negril Jamaica in 2012 (with regards to my mid-life crisis, NOT the destination) I swore I’d never return to the island. Why is that the perfect example? Because 24 months later I had a great experience in Runaway Bay; and at this point in time, it's looking like she’s shortlisted for a three-peat visit winter of 2016!

So, as I sit here illuminated by my happy light this morn, I will just write and go on record that I’ll never say that I’ll never to a return to Samana DR. What I will say, is that if/when I return, I'll think I'd like to stay on the luxury Gran Bahia resort located directly on Bacardi Island.

Not just because I like to sip a rum and coke (and it's named after my favourite brand of spirits) but because my thought process is why only visit an amazing place for a day... When you can stay a week basking in the brightest travel experience you have stored in your memory bank, from a not so stellar vacation...

EXACTLY!

NOW SCREENING ~ TOTALLY BITCHY!

Okay, so as you know, I blogged last night about my all day junk food marathon this past Saturday and the fact that I definitely paid for that sin yesterday. Well, it seems that not enough penance had been paid forward, because 'big fat hairy bitch Rhondi' boiled over the sides of that thar cauldron and seeped out of my pores yet again today.

My private backyard 'screening' yesterday.....
TAKEN: OCTOBER 25th, 2015

Relax, I wasn't unbearable or rude; simply a just a tad cheerful and extremely quiet. I was so bitchy today that even a bright spark of light (as captured through my my screen door yesterday) didn't help my disposition this eve.

The hard truth is that I knew last night what kind of a day I was going to have today based on a brief conversation I had late yesterday afternoon. That shitty conversation, combined with our blinding full moon last night's, turned me into a totally bitchy bitchin' blogger!

Trust me, I hate feeling this way more than you reading about it; but I seem to be stuck.

As a result, I am feeling so friggin' miserable, that I fear that even if you tied pork chops around my ears, the dogs wouldn't play with me. Hell. I was so short with Twos this morn that I never heard back from him and I had to send an apology email this afternoon. Yup, I had to apologize to my BEB (best email buddy) because I hadn't emailed all weekend. I had to email and explain it was because I am a HUGE bitch and I'd been chewing on a large bag of spiral nails the last 48 hours.

His email response was perfect. "No wonder you had a bad weekend," he wrote. 

"Those nails didn't have enough bite to satisfy you. They clearly weren't galvanized!" 

Do I have the best friends or what?!

BITCHES OVER BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Sometimes, the best laid plans never work out the way they're supposed to. As you can imagine, I’d had a couple of options for spending this past weekend but at the end of it all, I figured the right thing to do was to hunker down and close the cottage. Well, yesterday it poured rain here all day, so I ended up lounging in some very ugly jammies, eating junk food and watching the boob tube for 99.9% of the day.

I have no idea why I am making it sound like I am the least bit surprised. Every fall there’s always an adjustment when we move home from the cottage. Anyway, as I was curled up in my chair all day yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice how the “art of squirreling” has been refined at the house this fall. Adding another dog to the mix makes the anticipation of a visit and the actual act of being on high alert much more entertaining. As Dot winds down, it feels like Annie is working overtime to pick up the slack. It’s really very interesting to watch the family of three that we have living in our trees, tease three pups we keep living in our home. 

I realize that this is Dot’s last hurrah. Matter a fact, I am grateful that I snapped this pic of the three of them watching their squirrel friends on the trees right outside the window. As you can see, the timing of my picture was perfect.

Larry, Mo & Curly... I mean Dot, Annie & Puddin'
TAKEN: OCTOBER 24th, 2015

Why? Because the rest of the day, Puddin’ just sat there staring at me wondering when my four time an hour encore (every fifteen minutes like clockwork) of chips and dip would yet again appear. Sad part about that statement is that we took a big chunk out of a strawberry-rubarb pie and tub of vanilla ice cream too. Isn't it odd junk food gives us that false jolt from funk to fab?!

As the four of us girlz spent today bloated and cranky, I find it amazing how my funk/false fab yesterday was the perfect segue for my Facebook blog page post earlier today. It read: I put my scale in the bathroom corner today… and that’s where that bitch will stay until she apologizes!

What can I say...Yesterday, for the first time in a very long time, us four bitches definitely did NOT unconditionally choose a salad!

...Ya Gotta Laugh About It

MY FINAL FALL FLAMES

As you know, I’ve been clearing behind the cottage all summer (& into the fall) one pulled muscle at a time. As expected, it’s been a very long and physically daunting task but as of last night, I’ve officially gotten my project to a place I'm actually happy with.

The good news is that everything that was going to get cut this season was down and moved a couple of weeks ago. The bad news was that burning of all those remnants of brush, saw little end in sight. With the core goal of cleaning that mess in mind, I landed with the pups around noon with a plan. A plan to just keep my head down and the fire stoked until my last muscle was pulled and the great big clutter of crap was gone. Though it started to snow shortly after 1pm, it made not matter. In fact, the odd burst of white precipitation and radio blaring made for great company.

Pleased to report that it snowed for the first time this fall at exactly 1:12pm yesterday!
TAKEN: OCTOBER 17th, 2015

As I maneuvered around my fire yesterday there was lots of time to think. As a result, here’s today’s question… When you look inward at yourself, is there anything your grateful for? 

For example, I am proud at how I’ve raised my children, happy that I have made a comfortable living over the years; but most of all I am grateful that I’ve never been lazy. After all, the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.

At the end of the season, I’m glad my little cottage project was something I decided to work away at on my own. I was telling my BEF (best electronic friend) this morning that I can see physical changes in my body from all my hard work but it’s more than that. As a goal oriented person, the results speak for themselves.

I guess the bottom line is that I had a vision and I knew it would take a hell of a lot of work to see it accomplished. The added bonus is that I am going to look really good in my bikini next month in Mexico.

A win, win, win, win, win, win for little ole me....Wouldn’t ya say?!

It may not look like much but it was a hell of a lot of hard work!
(...As I proudly blogged about my first phase in July.)
TAKEN: July 21st & October 18th, 2015

I’M OFFICIALLY SPENT!

What a weekend. Though I had the luxury of spending the majority of Saturday with my daughter, I definitely paid for it by trying to cram three days of cumbersome fall house chores into two. I have aches on top of aches and they aren’t what I consider a “good hurt”. I’m not sure if I remember the euphoric kind if pain I’m alluding to that usually follows really great sex; but trust me, these aches ain’t them.

Yesterday was spent inside, cleaning and purging. From moving furniture, to vacuuming the corners of ceilings, to sorting through a boat load of closet crap I no longer need. If there’s one thing I’m not, it’s a pack rat. This time last year, I told myself that I would hang onto certain items of clothing until I hit a certain goal size. Well, I’ve hit that goal and all I could do was laugh as I crammed specific residual frocks into garbage bags for donation. Why? Because the I have no idea why I was holding onto the stuff. They was some dat mo-fo ugly kinda stuff!

Anyway, after a Jays win last night, I went to bed early and switched the focus to outside chores today. With my man working his list of things to do, I was really hoping that this would be the last time I'd have to mow the lawn this season but you never know. It’s 22C here today, so I just may need to pull out my bad boy Lawnboy one more time before my snow scoop replaces it and my closest yard work confidant.

I swear we're the only household on our street that doesn't have someone else do their yard work!
TAKEN: OCTOBER 12th, 2015

Speaking of my snow scoop. When I finished the mowing the main part of the lawn, I couldn’t help but notice that we were the only house that was suffering extreme foliage spillage onto the street, so I decided to rake. Though it was still raining leaves as I tackled the task, the good news is that I grabbed my snow scoop and shoveled the suckers into submission. Like I said, I’m spent.

As I sit here in a near comatose state, squinting at the screen, I have no desire to prepare dinner. With the twins engaged elsewhere for dinner and Jukebox working at his computer, I’m contemplating what to prepare. At this juncture, a bowl of Fruit Loops and an ice cream sandwich for dessert seem mighty inviting.

Then again, I’m not sure that I will be able to lift the cereal spoon to my mouth without wincing; so three ice cream sandwiches into the blender it is!

Uh-Oh, where's my straw? Come on.... Has anyone seen my straw?!

THE WALK OF LIFE

As I sip my coffee in my jammies I find it hard to believe that it’s Thanksgiving weekend already. It seems like only a minute and a half ago I was frolicking with the pups in the snow to celebrate Family Day last February. Where the hell has the time gone? For a vast number of reasons, I feel like the 'walk of life' has become a slow jog and Dire Straits is nowhere to be found. Then again, I suppose that's how everyone reading feels about life in general.

A beautiful 2014 fall morning at the cottage.
TAKEN: OCTOBER 11th, 2014

As I looked through my photos this morn of where I was at this time last year, I realized that I was still living full-time at the cottage. Working hard and determine to stay put until at least Thanksgiving (which was a challenge but in the end it was accomplished).

As I admire this picture I snapped exactly one year ago today, like the leaves, I just can’t believe how many elements of my life have changed. All for the good, because for the first time in over a decade, I feel my life has a solid balance.

That may read like a big bag of hokcum but it's true. After my dad passed in 2005 the direction of my life slowly shifted and changed. Some areas for the good and some for the bad. The only way I can describe it is that it felt like I was frantically jumping from one side of the beamscale to the other in search of harmony. Almost like a decade long teeter totter ride enjoyed alone. Wait, enjoyed is the wrong word, because it's been a hell of a lot of hard work and a very long journey!

All of that said, I have so much and so many to be grateful for this year. As I head upstairs to change over my seasonal clothing to prepare for what Mother Nature is sending my way (and I scramble to find where I've hidden my tights, dress socks, mitts & muffs) I have to admit that I'm feeling truly blessed. Grateful for my health and appreciative for the love and friendships I am surrounded by every single day.

Just so we're clear. The turkey that's sitting in the sink upstairs aligns more on the acquaintance side of things per say. Not that having the odd acquaintance for dinner is a bad thing. An acquaintance just tends not to hang around as long as true friends or family. In this instance, the dude in the sink won't be hanging around for dessert!

From  my home to yours... Keep smiling and Happy Thanksgiving everyone.